Lonesome for a Place I Know

ebtg.jpgI was listening to an old CD by English duo Everything But The Girl a few days ago and one of their songs got me thinking again.

Lonesome for a Place I Know talks about the connection we have to our home lands. We can often see the faults in our own countries or cities and see the benefits of other places but there’s still something that calls us back to the place we know.

I love the second verse of the song that talks about being born outside of place and time. If that were the case would we still choose to live where we do? Do we live where we do because it’s our choice or because we’re tied by birth or something else? If those ties didn’t exist, where would we choose to do life?

Lonesome for a Place I Know 

So here we are in Italy
With a sun hat and a dictionary.
The air is warm, the sky is bright,
Your arms are brown you’re sleeping well at night.
So why does England call?
The hedgerows and the townhalls.
After all, there’ll soon be nothing left at all.

If we were born outside of place and time,
To make our choice, well this would be mine.
To live and die under a sun that shines.
But something pulls, something I can’t define
Tells me England calls, whatever she’s done wrong.
Always calls, “This is where you belong.”
And I’m lonesome for a place I know.

Oh but Florence you tempt me (here) to stay,
Amidst your hills to while my years away.
But your roots in soil lie, mine in paving stone.
And I hate what it’s become, but in my bones
I’m lonesome for a place I know.
Why does England call?

I must say that Australia, and in particular Perth, is a fairly good choice all round. I haven’t travelled as much as I’d like but I have been overseas and through much of Australia and I would still choose Perth over anything I’ve seen.

Having said that, I need to question if that’s the ties of being born here or if I’d still choose Perth if I was born somewhere else. I guess I’ll never really know.

What about you? Have you chosen to live somewhere other than your homeland? Does your homeland still call? Can you feel truly at home in either place?

Have you lived in the same place for most of your life? Would you move if you had the opportunity?

What does ‘home’ really mean for you?



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He previously worked in radio for about 25 years but these days he spends his time at Compassion Australia, working towards releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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16 Comments

  • I truly agree with the words of the song .. never heard it btw.
    I agree with you, Perth is a lovely place to live and I love it to bits .. could be a bit more quieter to my liking .. but yes, if you come from somewhere else there is always the “call” that you don’t know how to answer, it’s just there and hits you any time of the day mostly unexpectedly. A longing you can’t still, then you have to let your brain and not heart do the talking.

  • I go with Java.
    That way I have a second and a third home calling.
    Would I move? Hmmm, guess so, but then my family would be far, far away, maybe too far.
    But then I don´t get the chance anyhow.

  • We are shaped, at least in part, by the environment we grow up in and form strong bonds with it. Look at the strong ties Aborigines have with land. I’ve lived in Alice Springs, love the desert, but the desert desert?

    On the other hand, obviously some people do choose a different place.

  • Java, I can only imagine what you must feel.

    I’ve visited India twice, for a total of about five weeks and every day I feel the call to head back. I’m sure that having lived and grown up somewhere else that there must be a very strong call fromacross the seas each day.

  • Iris, it’d be wonderful if you were able to make the move to Perth but I’m sure there’d be many things you’d mis about home.

    Of course I do hope that you can visit us here, down under, again sometime.

  • You’re right, Alex, we do have strong ties to our environment and I often wonder how I’d survive away from what I know.

    I guess in the case of our Indigenous people, the pain of that call is only magnified by being forcibly removed from areas where they feel a real connection.

  • I was born & bred in NZ, came to live here in Perth 6 years ago, and now am returning to my homeland in 11 days, so I guess the old saying is correct “There’s no place like home”.

  • Thanks hazelblackberry.

    I wonder what would come out of a post about the emotional ties that people have for living either north or south of the river in the Perth metro area. 🙂

  • Hi,
    I lived in Sydney , Australia for 15 years. Born in Borneo Island :). Have lived in many places of the word, North Welsh, Swiss, N.Z, England, China, H.K, Japan and many others. Now I live in Florida, USA which I call home here :). Personally, I love US the most. Yes, I do miss and love my birth country but not its politics and government system. I love my life while I was in Australia but never wanted to live there for the rest of my life, otherwise I would accept the proposal of my Australian Christian brother, he he he. Jamy

  • Wow Jamy. You’ve certainly moved around a lot.

    Having lived in so many places gives you a unique perspective on the issue. Thanks for dropping in and sharing a little of your story.

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